Holy Cow! That’s An Uncomfortable Seat!

I had read plenty of reports from folks about the new United slimline seats. None of them were really all that positive. But, for those that haven’t met me, I’m not overweight or over 6′ tall, so I rarely find seats that aren’t comfortable for me. Thankfully, United has changed that for me with the new slimline seats I got to experience on a United Express seat recently as well as a slightly different version on an A320 recently as well.

The seat on the regional jet was absolutely miserable. I flew it from Chicago to Washington-Dulles and it was just about the most uncomfortable seat I’ve ever flown in. I really can’t recall the seats from the old Beechcraft prop planes United and US Airways flew, but that’s likely the only thing that could have been worse. Even the seats on the older ERJ and CRJ 145 planes aren’t this bad.

I really thought people were exaggerating but it’s the first time in a long time that my back hurt getting off an airplane. The version on the Airbus really wasn’t much better, though it did have an adjustable head rest.

The cushion on both was very, very firm. I also noted on the regional jet seat that the height was quite short, even for someone of average height like me.

And, this isn’t just that all slimline seats are uncomfortable. I’ll have a trip report on my trip to Dublin soon where I sat in the British Airways version of the slimline seat.

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My goal in life is to fill my family’s passports with stamps, creating buckets of memories along the way. You’ll find me writing about realistic ways for normal people to travel the world, whether you’re on a budget or enjoy luxury. I also enjoy taking us on the occasional detour to explore the inner workings of the travel industry.

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I, like you, assumed the complaints were overblown until I flew slimline cross-country – Portland to Newark. Extremely uncomfortable… felt like I was slipping out of the seat the entire time. Could not sit in peace. Terrible.

However the updated blue Airbus slimlines are good. Find them better than the original seats, with nice padding on the bottom, and great lumbar support. The downside is if you’re not in Economy Plus the seatback in front of you is really, really close. But legroom is good.

The brown slimline seats originally installed and not yet modified are dreadful.

Not sure about the 737s but I think they are the same as the ‘good’ Airbus slimline seats.

It would be great to have a list of which planes have the “bad” slimlines… the ones I’ve flown must have been the good ones, since I liked them and was quite comfortable (I’m 5 feet 10 inches, 160 pounds). (I do like the fact that they’re using space more efficiently. I actually like extremely hard seats (and also mattresses – I sometimes sleep on the floor if the mattress in the hotel is too soft) so I didn’t even notice they were firm – but yes, if you like soft seats, you’ll hate them.

Couldn’t agree more. The new RJ seat is the worst seat airline seat I have ever sat in. Period. It doesn’t reach further up than my neck, I have nothing to rest my head on. And they are putting it in brand new E175s that will be used on routes like ORD-MIA, ORD-GEG and other flights that are 3+ hours long. Avoid.

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